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兩手空空

简两手空空 · 繁兩手空空

Mandarin · pinyin liǎng shǒu kōng kōng

empty-handed (idiom); fig. not receiving anything

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Characters in this entry

兩: liǎng · two, both, pair, couple; ounce
手: shǒu · hand
空: kōng · empty, hollow, bare, deserted
两: liǎng · two, both, pair, couple; ounce

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

3–3–1–1 · liang3 shou3 kong1 kong1

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

兩手空空 · find source passages ↗ · 两手空空 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

loeng5 sau2 hung1 hung1

Cantonese word readings for 兩手空空. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(idiomatic) to be emptyhanded; to be left with nothing; not receiving anything

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack